SXCL Lord Wandsworth College and Lakeside Prologue

SXCL Lord Wandsworth College

After the storms of the last week, the Southern Cross Country League course at Lord Wandsworth College was going to be muddy. Perhaps because – or in spite- of this there was a huge turnout – twenty-nine of them Farnham Runners. Getting there was problematic for some with ice on minor roads. Hosts Hart Road Runners had done a splendid job of clearing the course of tree debris as much as they could and clearly marking other obstacles, such as tree stumps. They had to leave just one trunk to be clambered over and one to go under – but that one only troubling those over 6ft 4, the race director declared. There’s only one noteworthy hill on the course but it’s steep and has to be tackled twice over the two laps.

Farnham Runners should move from joint third to a clear third place in the standings for the season after their performance in this fourth event of the series. The men’s and ladies’ teams both finished third to give third overall of the 20 clubs on the day, behind Basingstoke and Midhants AC and Hart Road Runners.

Looking forward to the “mudfest” Andrew Ellison led them in, with a fine 13th place. Just back from sunnier climes Ian Carley (18th) kept ahead of Richard Lovejoy (23rd), who is more confident on firmer ground. James Clarke (26th) and Charlie Hill-Venning (44th) made a great contribution as 4th and 5th scorers.

The in-form Colin Addison, not far behind in 47th, had his eyes on a team place. Valuable back up was given by Matt Dellar (53rd), Stuart Williamson (63rd), Ian Marshall (71st), Mike Taylor (86th), Tim Cummins (84th) and David Armstrong (96th). Still giving their all were Chris Cramp 110th, Neil Ambrose 116th, John Hill-Venning 123rd, Terry Copeland 134th, Darren Cairns 137th, Tim Farrant 156th, Terry Steadman 157th, Craig Tate-Grimes 171st.

Charlotte Hanson looked strong and was delighted to lead the Farnham ladies and record an excellent 16th. Jane Georghiou coped well with the mud for 20th. A fine run by Kayleigh Copeland gave her 24th as third scorer, while Lindsay Bamford, strong as ever was just one place back in 25th. A determined Eloise Stradling made an impressive start and forged ahead of rivals on the final hill for 28th while the talented Vicky Sadler struggled in the mud for 32nd. Sue Taylor benefited from new cross-country shoes in 34th while Kay Copeland (50th) and Becky Martin (83rd) also gave support to the team.

Lakeside Prologue at Portsmouth

Mike Anderson recorded an excellent 17.58 (15th, 1st M55) in the recent Lakeside Prologue at Portsmouth He was delighted to go under 18 minutes again and this result places him 28th on UK tables for the whole of 2013 for the M55-59 category.